I want my family meals to look like the opening credits of "Parenthood" — everyone laughing and chatting and politely passing food to each other under the soft glow of flattering lights.
I frequently want them to sound like the opening credits of "Parenthood" too — no actual dialogue, just a Bob Dylan song drowning out any trace of human voices.
A recent breakfast:
"Stop looking at my orange juice! Mom, she keeps looking at my orange juice!"
"You stop looking at my face! Mom, he's looking at my face!"
I know family meals are important. I've read all the same
studies
you have, linking them to a decrease in teen drinking, drug abuse, depression and
eating disorders
. They're
credited
with boosting self-esteem and grade-point averages.
But breakfast is hard. They're half-asleep, they're hungry, a full day of school awaits them.
And dinner is hard. They're half-asleep, they're hungry, a full day of school has drained them.
I wouldn't dream of shrugging them off. OK, I
dream
about it...
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